Man Roland Druckmaschinen Ag

Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-nurnberg Aktiengesellschaft

Manroland Ag

Manroland Web Systems Gmbh

Rainer Burger

Ingo Kobler

Norbert Dylla

Klaus Theilacker

Thomas John

Werner Kleininger

Hans E Mamberer

Franz X Gollinger

Georg Bock

Helmut Stuhlmiller

Stefan Albrecht

Manfred Stegmeir

Wolfgang K&auml;ser

Rudolf Annecke

Gerhard Bittl

Hans-Eckard Mamberer

A printing unit of a web-fed rotary press has a plurality of press units, each press unit having a form cylinder, a transfer cylinder, an inking unit and optionally a damping unit, and having at least one impression cylinder. Each form cylinder rolls on the respective transfer cylinder and each transfer cylinder rolling on an impression cylinder in a thrown-on position of the printing unit, in order to apply single-color printed images onto a printing material which is moved through between the transfer cylinders and the or each impression cylinder. Each form cylinder bears a plurality of printing images next to one another in the axial direction, by which corresponding single-color printed images are applied to the printing material. The printing images which are arranged next to one another in the axial direction of the respective form cylinder are offset with respect to one another in the circumferential direction in such a way that deviations in the circumferential register between the single-color printed images which are to be printed in different press units can be compensated for.

Printing unit of a web-fed rotary press

A folding former of a folder for a web-fed newspaper press has a former nose and a pivot point or pivot axis, the folding former being pivotable about the pivot point or the pivot axis. A former inclination angle is changed by pivoting the folding former to horizontally displace the former nose. A former spread angle is also changed as a function of the former inclination angle. To align the outer edges of sections to be folded in the folding former, the former inclination angle and the former spread angle are set as a function of the number of pages in the sections to be folded.

Folding former for a press

An apparatus and method for reducing oscillations in a web-fed rotary press are disclosed. The apparatus includes a form cylinder of a web-fed rotary press, having at least one clamping device for fastening at least one printing plate on the form cylinder. The clamping device has at least one clamping element which is positioned in a clamping channel. As seen in a circumferential direction, the clamping channel of the form cylinder has an effective clamping-channel width of at most 7 mm.

Apparatus and method for reducing oscillations in a web-fed rotary press

A nine-cylinder satellite printing unit includes printing stations having a first, second, third and fourth transfer cylinder which a web passes through. The transfer cylinders are capable of being stopped when the printing assembly is switched off. A distance between each of the first and second transfer cylinders, the second and third transfer cylinders, and the third and fourth transfer cylinder is shorter than the distance between the first and fourth transfer cylinder. A guide roller keeps a supplied portion of the web away from the first transfer cylinder and another guide roller keeps a discharged portion web away from the fourth transfer cylinder when the first and fourth printing cylinders are respectively in print thrown-off positions.

Nine-cylinder satellite printing unit

A draw-in device for feeding a plurality of printing stock webs, preferably paper webs, in which draw-in elements of finite length grasp the start of a paper web and draw it out of reel changers and draw mechanisms through printing units and up to folding units. An electronic memory is provided in which are stored the lengths of all possible feed paths in the printing machine and the draw-in elements can be switched on at different times corresponding to the different lengths of the feed paths and the resulting time differences at a given feed rate via an electronic computer connected with the memory and can be switched off simultaneously. It is also possible to refeed a web of printing stock which was torn during the print process so as to substantially reduce wasted paper.

Draw-in device and process for feeding webs of material into a printing

To position two relatively rotatable elements, for example folding jaw control elements of a folding jaw cylinder of a rotary printing machine, with respect to each other, and re-position the elements, a positioning drive (7), for example a motor coupled to a gear, which is coupled for rotary transmission to an axially movable shaft or rod element (10, 10'), movable, for example, under fluid, preferably pneumatic pressure. When projected, the coupling element is engageable with a positioning gear (12) on one of the elements (22) and, upon rotation of the element by the positioning drive, can effect re-adjustment of the angular position of the other element, upon engagement with a positioning gear (11) coupled thereto. The arrangement permits remote positioning and indication of relative position by a feedback transducer (13, 113), such as a potentiometer, which can provide position signals suitable for a display (B).

Positioning system for rotary folding jaw cylinder adjustment elements

To expand a U printing system having two plate-blanket printing couples first to form a Y system for 2/1 (or 1/2) printing and then, further, to a dual-U system for 2/2 printing, with minimum space requirement, the axes of rotation of the base blanket cylinders are spaced from a separating line (3) between two superposed, staggered printing systems by different distances. An expansion group having two expansion plate-cylinder blanket couples likewise has the axes of rotation of the expansion blanket cylinders at different spacing from the separating line. Thus, by merely shifting a vertically arranged single blanket cylinder, previously in engagement with a lower blanket cylinder to release engagement therewith and engage against an opposite, newly arranged blanket cylinder, a space-saving 2/2 printing station is obtained.

Modular, selectively expandable multi-color printing system

To permit easy change-over between double-prime, double-verso (2/2) printing on a substrate web (5) and double-prime, single-verso (2/1) printing, the cylinders are arranged in printing couples so that first and second blanket cylinders (1, 2) are in printing engagement with each other, with the web (5) therebetween and printing couples including blanket cylinders (3, 4) independently of the blanket cylinders (1, 2) are in engagement with each other, with the web therebetween. One (3) of the blanket cylinders of the printing couples is eccentrically shiftable from engagement with the associated blanket cylinder into engagement with another blanket cylinder (2) so that said other blanket cylinder will function as an impression cylinder for one prime image, and as a printing cylinder for the verso image, while, at the same time, another prime image is being applied thereagainst by the shifted blanket cylinder (3). The systems can be multiplied, preferably staggered vertically, with the substrate in form of a web being guided therebetween. The system permits complete disengagement of the printing couple prior to shifting of the shiftable blanket cylinder, and thus avoids smearing of freshly printed subject matter.

Versatile eight-cylinder printing machine, and printing method

The inker includes a chambered doctor blade unit (1) which defines an ink retention chamber. The ink retention chamber has an ink retaining ridge or strip (33) which extends from an upper surface towards the lower surface leaving a narrow ink passage gap (1') between the lower surface and the lower edge of the ridge or strip so that, upon selective connection of the unit (1) through a releasable coupling connection (5) of ink from a primary ink supply (3) or from a secondary ink supply (24, 40) of ink capacity substantially less than the ink capacity of the primary ink supply, ink within the ink retention chamber can be expelled under pressure being applied into said chamber, for example by compressed air, or sucked back into the cartridge. The cartridge permits application of a small quantity of ink, for example of different color than that of the primary ink supply, without disassembly of the entire inker. The compact inker formed by the doctor blade unit and the ink supply unit can readily be severed from the printing machine as a unitary group by disengaging a severable clutch (20), for example a claw clutch, provided to drive pumps (22) in the ink supply from a drive shaft (16, 531) common to a plurality of ink supply units and chambered doctor blade units, for example located axially adjacent each other along the anilox roller (6). The ink supply units have upwardly open troughs to catch ink being stripped off the anilox roller.

Compact printing machine inker system

To provide ready access to printing cylinders, including, for example, a satellite cylinder (4), plate and blanket cylinders, and inkers and dampers of a printing system in which the printing couples and associated inkers and dampers are located, essentially, in Y configuration, the side walls of the machine are constructed to have two upstanding arms (2) and only a single support leg (3) to form an amputated or truncated H structure, leaving a space (S) beneath one of the upstanding arms (2) which provides ready access to an operator (I). The upstanding arm (2) which is not above the leg (3) is supported by a post or column structure 20 which, preferably, has a platform (22) thereon. The paper web can be guided in an upwardly extending path (A, B), from either side of the machine, and access to all cylinders and rollers is provided from the left and right side of the machine, respectively, under all paper path (A, B) conditions.

Rotary web printing machine

To improve the uniformity of application of damping liquid, typically water, to a plate cylinder (8) of an offset rotary printing machine, a non-contacting, typically spray damper (18) sprays or otherwise applies damping liquid on a damping liquid accepting cylinder (19) with a hard, preferably chrome-plated surface. The damping liquid is applied to the plate cylinder by an application cylinder or roller (21) having a soft, for example rubber or textile surface. A transfer cylinder (20) transfers the water between the accepting roller (19) and the application roller (21). In accordance with the invention, the transfer roller (20) has a soft, for example rubber surface. The soft or rubber surface apparently causes formation of an ink-damping liquid emulsion on the surface thereof which is extremely fine grain to provide a highly uniform coating of damping liquid to the application roller (21). To improve the fineness of damping liquid distribution, more than one (201, 202) such transfer cylinders may be used, each having a soft, typically rubbery surface. Without such soft, rubbery surface transfer cylinders, the minimum number of rollers, for example three (19, 20, 21) would not be possible while still providing a uniform film of damping liquid to the plate cylinder.

Damper for a rotary printing machine

In order to eliminate the contaminant particles collecting between the inking roller in the inking system of a rotary printing machine and the doctor blade, a strip or wiper element of elastic material extending in the axial direction and projecting from the surface of the inking roller is glued onto the surface of the ink roller or inserted into grooves thereon to pick up and transport small contaminants from the trough into the ink path where they are harmless.

Inking roller for the inking equipment of a rotary press

To attach a printng plate (2) to a plate cylinder (1) having a groove therein, the groove has converging inner walls (10, 11) and a two-part attachment clamping wedge (5, 6) is provided, the clamping wedge being spring loaded to clamp an end portion (A) of the plate (2) between one part (6) of the wedge and an adjacent side wall (10), the other end portion (E) of the plate (2) being clamped between the two parts (5, 6). The parts have, in cross section, approximate trapezoidal shape. The two-part clamping element permits release of the plate by pressure (P) from the outer face of the cylinder (1) counter the force of a spring (8) which presses the clamping wedge parts (5, 6) towards the outside via a support plate (4). Preferably, the arrangement is symmetrical about a centerline (M) so that slight canting or tilting of the clamping wedges is possible for easy release of the plate (2) after installation. Upon rotation, centrifugal force acting on the clamping parts tightly clamps the printing plate (2) in position.

Printing plate attachment system

To permit ready access of operators to printing cylinders located above each other, in which the paper web is introduced laterally towards the cylinders in an upwardly directed path, a guide roller (6) is provided which is held at the end of pivot arms (8) and movable from a position remote from the printing cylinders, so that the upwardly directed path (A) will provide access to an operator standing beneath the then horizontally extending portion of the path, and a position close to the printing cylinders, so that the upwardly extending path (A') will be close to the printing cylinders and permit an operator standing on a movable platform (10) to reach the upper printing cylinders (right side of the figure). The movable platform (10) preferably is hinged upwardly of a platform on which the operator can stand if access to the lower cylinders is desired.

Printing machine web guiding arrangement

To permit, selectively, ready access by an operator to printing systems of a multiple system printing machine in which the printing systems are located above and below a laterally introduced web of paper into the machine, the paper path is arranged to be guided, selectively, with a horizontal portion either following a vertical portion, to permit an operator to stand beneath the paper web for access to the lower printing systems (FIG. 1) or, selectively, to position the vertical portion adjacent the printing machine to permit an operator to stand on a movable platform (11) and have access to the printing system above the paper web (FIG. 2), a paper guide roller (6) is vertically movable between an upper position (6, 13, 14) and a lower position (6', 13', 14'). Paper web tension can be maintained by an additional deflection guide roller (8) which is tilted, together with the platform (11) to an engagement position (FIG. 2: 8'), or the paper may hang through (FIG. 3).

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Augsburg, Germany

Rainer Burger